Alarm-clock mechanism.



T. B. STEPHENSON.

ALARM CLOCK MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 8, 1916.

1 1 8 1 1 8 1 Patented May 2, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET I T. B. STEPHENSON.

ALARM CLOCK MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 8. 1916.

Patented May 2, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 .Z'nvanfar: 7M 6 JW WASHING-mu. u. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS B. STEPHENSON, OF FORESTVILLE, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THESESSIONS CLOCK COMPANY, OF FORESTVILLE, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION.

ALARM-CLOCK MECHANISM.

Application filed January 8, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, T mums l5. STEPHEN- soN, a citizen of the FnitedStates, residing at Forestville, in the county of Hartford and State ofConnecticut. have invented certain new and useful lmprovei'nents inAlarm-Clock Mechanism. of which the fol lowing is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in alarm clock mechanism, and theobject of my impmvcment is simplicity and economy in construction andconvenience and elliciency in use. involving in part certain featuresshown and described in my application Serial No. 54.726. tiled OctoberS, 1915. and also features shown and described but not claimed in thecompanion application that will be filed with this.

The special feature of this application is a push-button mounted on theside wall of the casing and bodily shiftable back and forth along thesaid casing a limited amount. and in combination therewith a latch ofpeculiar form. In one position of the pushbutton the smile serves as atemporary check for temporarily checking the alarm. which ten'iporarychecking is eliminated and the control of the alarm is automaticallyrestored to the regular alarm sounding means before the elapse of theperiod for another sounding of the alarm. In the other position of thepush-lmtton the same so engages with the said latch as to serve as apermanent check for the alarm sounding mechanism. Thus the push-buttonmay be shifted at will to a position to serve either as an ordinarytemporary check or as a permanent or Sunday check.

In the accompanying drawing :Figure 1 is a front elevation of. an alarmclock pro vided with my improved alarm clock mechanism. Fig. 2 is a sideelevation of the upper part of the same. Fig. 3 is a front elevation. onan enlarged scale. of a partof the interior mechanism. showing the latchand the adjacent parts. the push-button being shown in broken lines.Fig. 4 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 5 is a plan view of ti e blankfor the alarm spring. on a re duced scale. Figs. 6 and 7 are each afront elevation of the push-button and latch in a different positionfrom that shown in Fig. I. Fig. 8 is a plan view of the blank for thelatch member. Fig. 9 is a sectional View, on an enlarged scale, of thepush-button.

The alarm clock shown in the drawing Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 2, 1916.

Serial No. 71.091.

comprises a casing 10 in which is housed clock mechanism for operatingthe time indicating devices and fo operating the alarm. which mechanismmay be generally ordinary, and with which I incorporate special meansfor controlling the alarm. involving checking and releasing the same.

The mechanism shown and described herewith corresponds to that shown andde scribed in the companion application re ferred to above. So far asconcerns the present application. other means may be employed than thoseshown for effecting the adjustment of the alarm. such for instance asthose shown in the application at present on file and referred to above.

The clock mechanism serves to operate the alarm at the time for which itis set and by momentarily depressing the shiftable spring supported pushbutton 11. shown in Fig. '1. when in normal position. the ringing of thealarm is checked in such a manner that the same will be automaticallyreset in time for the next ringing for which the alarm is set. and whenthe push button 11 is shifted bodily along the casing 10 to anotherposition there is effected a permanent check or look or what. is termeda Sunday check.

In the first case mentioned the ringing devices are locked by means thatare released hy the operation of the clock mechanism before time haselapsed for another ringing of the alarm so that the alarm is free to beset off at the proper time. In the second case the locking is effectedin such a manner that the same cannot be re stored to the operatingposition by the clock mechanism. but such restoration is effected byshifting the push-button l1 bodily back to the normal position.

Considering the constructive details. the alarm mechanism comprises theusual escapement wheel 12 which is operated in cooperation with thepallet member 13. mounted on the pallet shaft 14. The operation of thealarm is effected by the usual cam members, comprising the cam disk 15.s idably mounted on the cam shaft. 16 and the cam stud 17. rotativelymounted on the said cam shaft 16. The cam stud 17 rotates in a fixedplane. The cam disk 15 opposed to the cam stud 17 has a plane face forthe greater part of the circumference and for an appreciable portion ofthe said circumference has a cam groove 18 in registration with the pathof the said stud 17.

lli."

The cam groove 18 comprises a step at one end, into which the stud 17drops. and inclines from the said step outwardly, to the general surfaceof the disk. The cam disk 15 is maintained in contact with the stud 17as is usual in such devices. so that for the greater part of the rotarymovement of the stud the cam dish is held in essentially the sameposition and when the stud is in registration with the groove 18 thecamdisk is moved from such position bodily along the cam shaft 16.

The means for holding the cam disk 15 in engagement with the cam stud 17comprise the cam spring 1 The said cam spring 19 is of sheet material,is secured by one end to the frame 20 in some suitable manner. as bymeans of the screw 21; extends across the cam shaft 16. being providedwith a recess 22 to receive the said shaft 16: and is in bearingengagement with suitable sliding dcyices 23 mounted on the cam shaft 16.which sliding devices are opcratively connected with the cam disk 15 inthe usual manner. Accordingly. the cam disk 15 and the portion of thecam spring 19' crossing the can] shaft 16 have a to and fro movementalong the cam shaft 16 responsive to the cooperation of the cam members15 and 17.

The alarm pallet shaft 14 is provided with a plurality of generallyradial arms, there being three such arms as shown, comprising a hammerarm 24, which is provided with a hammer 25 at the free end. suitable foroperating on the gong, a cam spring arm 26 that is engaged by the camspring 19 in a manner to be described; and a latch arm 2? that isengaged by a latch 28.

The cam spring 19 is of appreciable width and has the free end dividedby a cut suitably to provide two fingers. comprising shown the upperfinger .29 that is in direct extension of the body portion. and thelower finger 30 is bent at right angles to the body portion. being alsoat right angles to the cam spring arm The lower finger 30 is oi suitablelength and suitably positioned to extend over the cam springarm 26 inone of its limited positions and to prevent the free movement thereofand to clear the same when in the other limited position. The firstlimited position mentioned corresponds to the position of non-operationof the alarm, when the cam stud 17 is out of engagement with the camslot 18 and the other limited position corresponds to such position ofengagementof the said cam members. Thus the cam members through themedium of the lowerfinger 30 serve either to prevent or to permit theoperation of the pallet member and the ringing of the alarm according tothe particular relative position of the said cam members.

The latch 28 is generally in the form of a rod. the body portion ofwhich is straight and radially directed, and slidably mounted inwaysfarmed byhole's" arm the arms- 32 or a [it-shaped yoke 33', suitablysupported from the frame 20. The upper end of the latch 28 is bent toone side, to the right, as shown in Fig. 1. to form an oi 'erhangingbranch 41, of such length that some part of the upper end of the latchis in position to enwith the lower end or contact portion of the pushbutton 11.-

T he push button 11 is radially directed, is positioned in a slot 1-2 inthe casing 10, and is mounted on a plate 43 engaged with the lower faceof the lateral wall of the casing 10, bridging the slot 42. the saidplate L3 be-- ing' sli'dably engaged with the said lateral wall so as topermit a lii'i'iited bodily shifting of the push-button 11 as described.

A latch spring 36 tends to hold the latch 28' in theelevated position.so that the upper end portion 41 thereof will always be engaged with thelower end of the push-button described.

The lateral wall of the casing 10 is cylindrical so that the to and fromovement of the push-'biitton will be along an arc, concentric with theclock structure. The branch 4H- is inclined dowirwardly from the saidlateral wall. away from the concentric line. and in such a positionrelatively to the pushbutton 11 that the same is normally engaged withthe free end portion of the branch 41 and the latch 28 will be operatedby pressing the push-button 11 and when the pushbut'ton is shiftedupwardly to the limit away from the normal position the lower end of thepush-button will ride along the branch -11. the'latter serving as a camsurface, until the pllSh-biltiiofr is in line with the body of the latch28. In this movement the latch 28 is depressed essentially the same asby depressing the push-button when in the normal position; and theeffect in checking the' ringingof the alarm is the same, except that inthe position last described the latch is locked in the depressedposition.

The latch 28 is preferably made of sheet metal; and the holes 31 fit thesame. so that the latch is non-rotatively positioned.

On the rear edge the latch 28 is provided with a nose 34 and an arm 35.The nose 34 is positioned adjacent the upper finger 29 suitably toengage therewith in one of the limited positions thereof and has aninclined edge on the rear and lower side and on the upper side is at a'right angle to the general line of the edge. suitably for serving as aholding tooth in engagement with the lower edge 0 the upper finger 29.

In orient the limited positions of the cam spring 19 and the upperfinger 29 the nose 34 is clear of the said upper finger 29 and in theother of the limited positions thereof the said no's M is in linetherewith, and-normally above the saml Whenin this last named position,by depressing the latch 28, as by means of the push-button 11, theinclined face of the nose 34L serves to momentarily push the upperfinger 29 to one side until the holding edge of the nose 34 has beenbrought below the same when the upper finger 29 snaps back into engagingposition with the nose 3%, and will be held in such position when thefinger is released from the push button 11. The latch 28 will thus beheld in the depressed position.

The lateral arm 35 on the latch 28 extends over the radial. latch arm'27 on the pallet shaft 14, and is so positioned that when the saidlatch is in the elevated position the radial arm 27 is free fromengagement with the lateral arm 35, so that there will be no checking ofthe ringing of the alarm, and when the latch is in the lower positiondescribed the lateral arm 35 is positioned in engagement with the radiallatch arm 27 so as to hold the pallet member 13 from operating andthereby preventing the operation of the alarm.

The particular limited position of the cam spring 19 in which the nose34 is in line with the upper finger 29 with which the same cooperatescorresponds to that in which the cam stud 17 is engaged with the camgroove 18, and which is the position in which the lower finger 30 isdisengaged from the cam spring arm 26, so that the latch device 28 maybe used to check the alarm when the cam spring arm 26 serves to permitthe alarm to operate. Thus it will be noted that the cam spring alarmcontrolling device involving the use of the lower finger 30 servesnormally as the alarm controlling means to start the alarm at the timefor which the same is adjusted or set and after the same has operated tostart the alarm the sounding of the alarm may be checked by means of thelatch device, involving the use of the latch 28, and operated by meansof the push-button 11, the latter being exposed on the outside of thecasing, and readily accessible for use. After the usual period providedfor during which the sounding of the alarm may be continued unlessintentionally checked the cam spring 19 is brought back to its positionfor checking the alarm, the lower arm 30 being brought across the camspring arm 26 and at the same time the upper finger 29 is slipped 011'from engagement with the nose 34, when the latch spring 36 restores thelatch 28 to the normal, elevated position.

Except for the feature of the shifting of the push-button 11 themechanism described corresponds essentially to that shown and describedin the patent application referred to above. The third method ofchecking the ringing the alarm described in the said applicationinvolving engagement with the hammer supporting arm, is herewithdispensed with and in lieu thereof the method described for locking thealarm in the checked position is used.

Thus the means for checking the alarm consist of the means operated bythe clock mechanism comprising the lower finger 30 engaging with the camspring arm 26, and the manually operated releasing means involving theoperation of the latch 28, and which latter may be used to operate as atemporary check, permitting of automatically re-setting or as apermanent or Sunday check, involving a permanent locking of the alarm inthe checked position.

The alarm dial :7 and the hands cooperating therewith are arranged andoperated similarly to the devices shown in the companion application andform nopart of the present application.

The alarm hands comprise the dead hand 49 for indicating the time, theringing of the alarm being effected at the moment when the live handmeets the dead hand.

As described the push-button device when shifted to the limit permittedin one direction, which corresponds to the normal position, operatesactually as a push-button and when shifted to the limit in the oppositedi rection serves essentially as a dead stop or fixed lug. the samemovement of the latch being effected in both cases. In the first casehowever the push-button is cleared of the latch after depressing thesame, thus permitting the latch to be restored to nor- .mal positionbefore the time for again ringing the alarm, whereas in the second casethe latch is permanently depressed, and the same cannot be againelevated to its normal position until the push-button device has beenshifted back along the casing to its normal position.

I claim as my invention 1. In an alarm clock, alarm actuating mechanismhaving a pallet member, a cam member slidably mounted on a shaft, asecond cam member, a cam spring holding the said cam members inengagement, a finger on the said cam spring serving to control theoperation of the said pallet member responsive to movements of the saidcam members, and a second finger on the said spring, a latch slidablymounted, having means for connecting the said finger and pallet member,a push-button mounted on the casing, generally in alinement with thesaid latch. the said latch having a cam face on the end opposed to thesaid push-button, and the means for mounting the said push-button on thesaid casing permitting of bodily shifting the said push button so thatthe same will engage with different parts of the said cam face of saidlatch.

'2. In an alarm clock. a latch serving as connecting means between thepallet member and the cam positioning spring, the said latch lreving :rcam face at the outer end, a piis'h button on the casing for engeging'with the said latch, and means for suppbrtihg fihe said push button sothat the same can be shifted so as to engage with different parts of thesaid earn face.

3. In an a'la'rm clock, a latch serving as connecting means" between thepallet member and the cam positioning spring, the said latch having acam face alt the outei end, {I push button on the c-(i'singfor engagingwith the said latch, means for supporting the said push button so thatthe same can be shifted so as to engage with different parts of the saidcam fate, and the said cam face being so' formed that in one positionthe sit-id latch will be depressed by pressing the said pushbutton andin another position the Said lz-itch will b held in the depressedposition.

4. In an alarm clock; a cnm' spring having a linger for controlling thealarm responsive to movements of the clock mechanism; and a, secondfinger, a latch having an arm for checking the alarm and a nose forengaging with the said second finger, a push-button,

for operating the said latch; the coiipe'mting portions of the saidlatch and push-button being in the form of end cam members, and meansfor shifting the points of. engagement of the said end cam members.

5; In an alarm clock. a cam spiing havinga finger for controlling thealarm resiiionsi'v to' movements of the clock mechanism. and a secondfinger, a latch having" an arm for ch'eclzing the alarm, and a nose forwith the said second finger, a pushbtitton for operating the said latch,the co operating portions of the said latch and push-button being in theform of end cam members; means for shifting the points of engagement ofthe said end cam members, and the said end cam members being so formedthat in one position the push-button can be manually operated to depressthe said latch zind in another position the said latch will beiernisinently depressed by the said push-button.

(3. In an alarm cloclge casing, time indicating and Alai'fn actuatingmechanism honsed therein, checking means housed in the snid casing forche'clting the sztid alarm tetra-(sing mechanism; control meansextending through the said casing for operating the said checking means;means for shifting the position of the said control means relzitiielfito the said casing, and the said control means serving in one positiohsis a pn'sil'i-bntton for Bringing the said checking means to thechecking pan-non, and in another pbsitioh his a lock for permanentlyholding the Sltld checking means in the checking position. v o

THOMAS B; STEPHENSON.

\Vitness'e's SAMUEi, SLoAN, CHAS. PoNnl Copies of this patent may beobtained fox five cents eah'; by addressing the Coriimissioner o!Pitenta, Washington, D. C."

